If you had 10,000$ to mod with...

[baddog671]

what would you do? I sometimes think about this, and perhaps in the future when I have my own place, room, and money, I will do it. If you had 10,000$ to modify your car, or purchase a new car and modify, what car would you get and what would you do?

I think I would get a 96+ 1L 5speed metro for a project because it is already a top contender. There may be better choices, but I am already well familiar with this vehicle.

For starters, extreme weight loss (couple hundred pounds), suspension lowered as close to ground as possible but still be able to hit bumps, custom 13x4 (or less width) aluminum wheels with less backspace to suck wheels closer to body and lightest reasonable tire, heavy areodynamics modification (mirrors, grill, entire rear taperd down, tire shrouds, etc).

Then more extreme like tubular aluminum frame to eliminate wieght and be stronger than rusted-out frame, diesel conversion (?), xfi cam, 6-speed tranny(?), electrical assistance(?), computer adjusters and moniters (megasuirt, scangauge, etc), LED conversion.

And finally, fuzzy dice for my rearview mirror.

I think it can be done (most of it) if you did the work yourself, had the knowledge/patience/tools, and found good deals on stuff. How about you'all?

Nic

[Ryland]

I would get an Insight, get one of those reprogrammed motor controllers for it, the Mima or whatever they are called, some 145/85 R14 tires. LED indicator lights all around, a single middle back seat to allow 3rd person (part of why I didn't like the CRX), maybe get the engine cryogenicly treated and replace the battery pack with Lithium Iron, I've also thought about getting a Honda Fit, and putting an insight drive train in, as they supposedly are similar size..

I've also thought about getting a 1996-? civic hatchback, and putting a hx engine in it, because I really like the civic hatch backs, then add lighter weight fenders, hood, wheels, a stainless steel exhaust system.

Other option is to buy another electric car that doesn't need to be fully rebuilt, use that for driving to work, save the gas car for longer trips, or get a diesel for long trips and use what is left over for beer.

[baddog671]

Hahaha, beer is not a legit option

[bowtieguy]

Chevy 572 crate motor!

[maxxgraphix]

1/2 Ton Chevy Pickup, 6 speed with an Isuzu turbo diesel. 35mpg and can still haul a ton.

[Nerds laugh at me]

www.plasmaboyracing.com
high 11s in the quarter mile - or swap for long range vs. performance.
All electric. Zero emissions ( windfarm electricity ) ( in a car with four seats - so no aero bubble cars needed )
Has approx $ 13,000 invested.

[RoadWarrior]

Buy a street sweeper, use half the back for a low RPM industrial diesel, and half of it for a centrifugal separator, then you suck tire powder and organic dust from the road, separate the grit out of it, and run the diesel on it... oh and I'm the only one that gets to have one, or there'll never be enough fuel to go anywhere.

or

Find a truck with a nice rounded cab shape, then put one vertical roller in each of the front corners of the bed, and one vertical roller on a moveable arm at the back of the bed. Stretch a band of canvas/tarp around the three rollers... and shifting the back roller side to side will alter the airfoil shape allowing you to "sail" in crosswinds. Oh and you can motorise it, making it scroll around slowly, helping lift slightly and you can sell advertising space on it...

or

Get another 1st gen caravan or voyager, strip it right down and rebuild it lighter, fit a VW 1.9TDI and 5 speed, insulate the heck out of it for peak thermal efficiency, go nuts on the aero... because having an 80mpg minivan screws with peoples heads more than having an 80mpg insight.

[samandw]

I'd probably find an unmolested Honda Civic VX and remap the ECM to run in lean-burn mode for everything but rapid acceleration. Do a complete fiberglass aero package like basjoos has, with a dynomatted sheet-metal belly pan, LRR tires, and FE gauge. Then I'd install a small electric motor at the rear wheels for 0-5 mph acceleration and give the car an auto shutoff capability. You'd let the clutch out and push on the accelerator and the electric motor would effectively bump-start the engine and you'd be on your way. You'd probably have to play with 2nd or 3rd gear starts and then a quick downsift to avoid a jerky start, or maybe size the electric motor so you can start in 2nd. The electric motor would be extremely helpful in slow bumper-to-bumper traffic where having the engine running is extremely inefficient. Obviously I'd give the small battery pack a plug-in capability and unstall a ultra-high-output alternator to charge it while in motion. You could also get a small amount of regenerative braking by using the electric motor(s) to slow you down. Overall, I'd be suprised to not see 100 mpg in the city AND on the highway.

[Peakster]

I'd get a Geo Metro then minimize its weight/frontal area and maximize its aerodynamics. Maybe add bicycle pedals and gearing as auxiliary power too.

[thecheese429]

Originally Posted by Peakster

I'd get a Geo Metro then minimize its weight/frontal area and maximize its aerodynamics. Maybe add bicycle pedals and gearing as auxiliary power too.

yeah, if you got it aero enough, you could practically power the thing full time off of pedal (city speed, but no stops).

the motors are a good idea too

[brucepick]

Civic HX, stick shift.
Probably would do a grill block and belly pan. And... synthetic fluids, nice smooth high pressure tires, ScanGauge.

Might be able to get a well worn Civic Hybrid for that money. But with the HX I'd have money left over.

Or maybe a VW Golf TDI. But I think the HX would beat it hands down as far as reliability.

[cfg83]

baddog671 -

I'd do the following to my current Saturn :

- Take a hiatus from my job to work on mods full time.
- Install Apexi or equivalent fuel controller.
- Setup removable passenger seat.
- Remove rear seats
- On board datalogging for saving OBDII trip data.
- Wind Tunnel software of some kind so that I can model aerodynamic mods.
- Belly pan
- Aero-nose job for front of car.
- Kamm-back
- Engine rebuild with : ceramic lining + http://www.somender-singh.com/ + Speed-Pro Hypereutectic Pistons (for the oil drain hole)
- Fuel Injector (Momentary?) Kill Switch
- Convert to Manual Steering
- Extra Vacuum Canister for power brake insurance on EOC.
- Racing wheel covers (retrofit over alloys)
- Engine Block Heater
- NOx Sensor (when it becomes available)

Hrmmmmmm, maybe I'd need more than $10K, .

CarloSW2

[DRW]

I'd mod my car extensively. I like the power, light weight, handling and I've learned so much about the ecu I can tackle anything with it.

Build an Miller cycle engine by recombining current parts. Find a 1.8 liter Mitsubishi Cordia engine block, which just happens to use the same stroke as the engine in my car, but it has a 5mm narrower bore. That would reduce internal friction a little, but more importantly a long stroke motor is better suited to Atkinson/Miller cycle. Use high compression pistons, 11:1 would be good, 12:1 better,
aw what the heck, it's just a daydream, so lets shoot for 13:1 compression!
Combine that block with my excellent (cough) dohc head. Get custom cams. The intake cam would have lower lift but much longer duration, like an Atkinson/Miller cycle motor. Adjustable cam gears insure years of tuning enjoyment.

I'd keep the turbo, maybe downsize it to suit the power characteristics of the homegrown Miller cycle engine. Find what works.

The next step is swapping an AWD trans and transfer case out of a 1990-1994 Eclipse/Talon/Laser (because it bolts right up). Swap in a taller 5th gear from a EVO GVR4 www.vfaq.com/mods/Trannies.html. Instead of a driveshaft going to the rear wheels, I'd keep the back wheels unpowered, remove the driveshaft, and hook up an electric motor/generator to feed power into the tranny through the transfer case output shaft. Lock the front driveaxles to the electric motor by simply welding the center diff. This would let the electric motor propel the car with the engine off and provide a slight gear reduction so the electric motor could be downsized. The engine could be uncoupled from the electric motor simply by pushing in the clutch and/or shifting to neutral.

To uncouple the electric motor from the wheels I'd need a JDM switchable tranny or transfer case. www.vfaq.com/mods/Tranny-switchable.html An electric solenoid could be attached to the plunger bolt actuator so the electric motor could be coupled/uncoupled from the wheels with an electric switch in the cabin, or by ecu control.

Or maybe I could just turbo an Insight.

[Compaq888]

take the money and move to a 3rd world country..

[samandw]

Excellent point on the Atkinson cycle DRW! The Toyota Prius has a 13.5:1 compression ratio Atkinson cycle engine, so high mechanical compression is doable. I imagine it would be very easy with a custom grind cam in a D15Z1 VTEC-E engine. I'm sure stroker kits and high-compression pistons are readily available for those engines. Lean burn with Atkinson should make for an extremely efficient combo.

[Big Dave]

I'm assuming $10 grand over the price of the vehicle.

Me? Buy a '02 4x2 diesel Excursion.

Do the "sex-change operation" and convert it to stick shift but I'd use a Tremec T-56 "Viper" transmission instead of the ZF6-650 used in Super Duties. With its huge 0.5:1 overdrive, I don't have to monkey around with the axle ratios.

I do the 3 inch/6 inch suspension slam to lower ride height. Air dam, side skirts rear fender skirts, Mooneyes and a some custom coach work to taper down the rear of the vehicle to a more modest wake area.

If I have any money left, I convert to non-aqueous coolant and get a custom-made 250 degree thermostat and a custom ground cam to make that the biggest Miller-cycle engine on the planet.

An '02 Ex in 4x2 can be had for about 30 grand. I may (the custom coach work is a wild card) may blow the 10 grand limit, but at the end of the day I have a very comfortable, useful, and safe 30 MPG SUV with about $33,000 in it.

Now, about that lottery ticket...

[boxchain]

With my existing car?

Have the head ported & polished and polished some more , crank scraper, maybe VTEC-E head swap. Low pressure turbo, built for low RPM torque. Kill switch. Lower final drive for the trans.

Body: Nice professional aero mod job with belly pan, rear wheel skirts and Kammback, maybe angle the rear in like an Insight.

Lighter wheels, half moon covers.

Electric power steering and AC.

[JoeBob]

Hmmm....with $10,000 I could move to Caracas, Venezuela (12 cent/gallon gasoline)? Nah, mi espanol es nicht zu gut. Und mein Deutsch ist no bueno!

Probably I'd buy another Triumph 650 TR6C (single carb 650cc vertical twin motorcycle...up to 70 mpg and nice handling). Rebuild it so it wouldn't leak. Replace EVERYTHING electrical. Pretty up the Geo. Buy my wife a cheap used minivan and buy Exxon and Autozone stock with the rest. Oh, and some beer.

[slurp812]

Originally Posted by bowtieguy

Chevy 572 crate motor!

Would that be for the Metro?